(These stories shared with Panay News do not intend to give a negative impression of the school and the church, nor discredit the personal experiences of the interviewees. This paper is open to any reaction or clarification.)
AT 41 years old, the feeling of being frightened and terrified is as vivid as his memory of a former altar boy’s creepy encounters.
“Nonoy” used to live at the convent compound of Santa Monica Parish Church in Pavia, Iloilo.
According to Nonoy, doors slowly creaking open, floating shadows that followed, and whiffs of bone-chilling cold air were usual occurrences.
“Sa kumbento may time nga kon ara kaw sa babaw mabatyagan mo gid. Kag makita mo man nga daw kalinong pero ang puertahan, kwarto kag CR naga-abri kon ikaw lang isa,” he said.
A seemingly faulty faucet, Nonoy believed, was something else – possibly a work of unseen beings.
“Ang gripo ang nagapabatyag, nagatubod sia bisan wala ginbuksan, ginsirado namon tapos nagtubod naman,” he said.
He also recounted a staff member’s experience who accidentally chanced upon the caretaker while going up the second floor of the convent. Strangely, when the staff tried to initiate a conversation, the latter did not respond.
“May time nga ang labandera ni Monsignor kang una, bali bag-o lang kami tapos panyaga nagsaka sia nga isa lang sia, pagsaka ya nasugata ya ang caretaker bali ginbugno ya. Waay nagsabat pero pag-abot sa babaw sang kumbento nakita ya nga nagatan-aw tana sang TV ang caretaker namon,” Nonoy added.
The place is said to have a tragic history, too.
“Sa puti nga building dira, bal-an mo kaagi na da nga sang gina-construct kang una may nadagdag nga isa ka tawo kag napatay kay natuhog sa kabilya. May time kis-a nga mabatyagan mo kay ang nahulogan ya tadlong gid sang hagdanan mo,” he claimed.
Nonoy disclosed that there was allegedly a small cemetery near the convent before.
Established sometime in 1862, Pavia Parish Church is a century-old church built by Spanish Augustinian Fathers led by Fray Policarpio Minayo.
The church’s interior and exterior walls are made entirely of red bricks, making it the only existing brick-constructed church on the island of Panay.
The Santa Monica Parish Church was envisioned in the Byzantine style with Romanesque design elements. Two Greek crosses dominate the façade above the triple-arched main doorway, and the transept is round and set against the rear wall.
The facade also features circular and arched stained-glass windows. The stained glasses depict significant events in Christ’s life on earth – the Annunciation, the Baptism of Christ, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Ascension of Christ.
The church’s plan – with a rectangular-shaped floor – was completed on Oct. 2, 1886 in Spain. It was said that the official launching of the construction was started on the feast day of Santa Monica, May 4, 1887.
In 2003, its restoration (by phases) started – the façade, the barrel-shaped apse, the sacristy, choir loft, stained glasses, floor elevation, wooden doors, iron grills, belfry, altar, and trusses (wood to steel).
In the churchyard is a small garden with the statue of Santa Monica./PN
